I have recently purchased a copy of the current version of VoiceBootcamp's UC ResourceKIT and spend the weekend taking a look at it. As a Technical Trainer for a Telco, I looked at the material from both a user's and an instructor's perspective.
For those who are not familar with the product, it is a set of over 200 video labs covering the key components comprising Cisco's UC product family. The components covered include;
Unified Communication Manager7.X,
Unified Connection 7.0 Voicemail
Unified Presence Server 7.0
Unified MeetingPlace Express 2.0
Unified Contact Center Express 7.0 - Integration
Unified Contact Center Express 7.0 – Scripting
Unified Communication Manager Express 7.0
Unified Unity Express 7.0
CallManager Express 7.0
Delivered on a DVD, the format for each lab is a Web page that the user loads into their browser, the page then loads a Flash video file which can be played. Some of the labs also include an MP4 video file. I've successfully played the labs on both my old HP Laptop running Vista and on my MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard.
The labs are composed of a step-by-step video screencapture of of the task being executed on the actual software package in question or, UCCX Script editor, or router CLI, with Faisal Khan's voiceover explaining each step. Depending on the task being labbed, the videos run from about a minute, to over 15 minutes (for the ones I've seen so far). Faisal's lecturing style is easy to follow and gives the user the feel that they are sitting next to him while he walks them through the process.
While not as slick as some products out there, the videos and lectures are easy to follow and are meaty with no fluff. The emphasis is eminently practical, these videos teach the user the nuts and bolts of configuring and using the products in question without theoretical digressions. So this makes the resource kit not only a useful study aide, but also an excellent resource for anyone tasked with configuring and administering a live UC network.
Although listed at $1299, there is usually some promotion that alows you to buy it for significantly less and often bundled with other VoiceBootcamp products. There is an update coming out in March that will cover UCM 8.0
In future blog postings I will look at the other products that came in the bundle I purchased.
